Fairy Gardens

Called "Watermelon Patch Vine" because purple-green grape sized leaves are reticulated with a mosaic of blackish veins; easy miniature hanging basket subject for the shaded greenhouse or terrarium groundcover delight from the humid jungles of Viet Nam.

"Emerald Isle" or "Brazil" Delightful tuffets of creamy wax pewter leaves with peltate dimples; stature of a tinsy griseo-argentea. Choice easily grown dwarf for the terrarium. And the rather hopeless name? Well, it means "Curved Ovule" allowing the micropyle to come quite near the funicle. We assume this is why other ...

"Pine Peperomia." or "Needle-leaf Wax Plant" Small erect branching stems with close whorls of four to six pale green needle leaflets--eventually looks like a succulent clustered mini-scale model for a Bamboo clump. Very odd habit for this genus. Several European pharmaceutical companies are researching the chemistry of...

The old horticultural designation of "Argentina" probably indicates habitat origin. Big bronzy-ochre leaves bushed with dull pewter highlights, held in open rosettes achieving the character of a giant P. caperata. Of easy culture, tolerant of low humidity

"Crazy Quilt Plant" "Pixie" or "Christmas Tree" Also sold as P. gardneriana minima; and even as a Peperomia fraseri hybrid. The sheer number of names suggests how popular this has been over the years. Cheerful upright reddish blshed stems covered with petite whorls of glossy depressed-veined rich green leaves packed so...

"Coin-leaf P." or "Owl Eye Plant" Stout picturesque stems hold large cupped-shield-shaped, waxed peltate leaves typically with a center "eye"--that is, each leaf potentially forms with its own omphalodium. Andean species with racemes to one foot long covered with flowers so tiny the naked eye is defeated. Rather succul...

"Moon Valley Pilea" Very puckered, quilted apple-green leaves with serrated edges, sometimes but rarely with center chocolate blotch. Costa Rican plant sometimes considered a form of Pilea involucrata with extremely bullate leaves. Great for large terrariums or your plant room.

Carpeting "Silver Sprinkles" or gray artillery fern--very prostrate much branching stemlets with multitudes of tiny (barely a pea's width) glaucous oval leaves. A fabulous tiny featured groundcover, perfect for terrariums or for dishgardens--proven in the latter as has proven remarkably tolerant of low humidity,.

"Waterfall Fern" Prostrate succulent stems with tiny watery leaves create a ferny, weeping effect when used in hanging baskets; perfect for terrarium carpet. Due to waxy surfaced tiny leaves, the most tolerant of any finely lacy appearing plant of lower levels of humidity and of higher levels of direct sun. Very popula...

"Artillery Plant" Small, densely branched succulent upright stems arch with tiny "Fern Mimic" teardrop leaves; tiny flowers release pollen in puffs like gunsmoke, thus the common name. Easy to grow critter endlessly popular with children of all ages. A basic groundcover plant in any terrarium design as a fern mimic.

Clouds of tiny lance leaves form compact mounds topped by large heads (stools) of tiny pink bubble blossoms--actually one of the few species one would grow for the infloresence. Reliable and terminally cute "Gnome Stools" plant good for windowsill or terrarium. One of our best terrarium plant subjects.

Absolutely charming "Parsley Leaved Plantain" forming tight rosettes of elaborately frilled and cripsed leaves--small enough for a large trough; excellent between garden walk pavers. Very cute; very amusing; very over the top. And if a few too many volunteers come up? Just gently remind the seedlings that their seeds a...

"German Bamboo" A lovely grass of great delicacy with fast clumping erect Bamboo-like stalks reaching a foot height; these branched stalks are clothed with sea-green slim leaf blades. Fabulous when displayed as a bonsai; customers in the subtropics inform us this is a most successful thickly clumped vertical vase perfe...

Swooping, looping branchlets of this contorted sport of "Trifoliate Orange" make this a conversation container subject--looking like a potted living barbed wire coil (barbs included); now also used as a dwarfing understock for citrus. Also, this is called "Chinese Bitter Orange." This "Karatachi" is hardy outdoors in o...

Glasshouse Works

The Glasshouse Works greenhouses is a mailorder nursery specializing in rare and exotic hardy and tropical plants from around the world. We are your source for plants both traditional and unusual. Variegated plants are our specialty.